


moon for love

by paprbee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, cheesy to the max, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 08:39:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18937372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paprbee/pseuds/paprbee
Summary: "Is it just me or is this super romantic?" he had asked teasingly. “We’re touching the moon together.”"It kind of is," Keith had said with a small grin, looking up at Lance through the glass. Their eyes held for a moment, fingertips touching before they both pulled back and headed back...





	moon for love

    "You know," Keith says to Lance with an already teasing tone in his voice. "Reenacting a first date for your anniversary is one of the cheesiest things I can imagine."

    "And yet here you are," Lance grins at Keith, sticking out his tongue.

    "Here I am," Keith nods him with a small smile. 

    Yes, Keith thinks this is super cheesy but he still knows that he's going to enjoy every second of it. They arrived before the doors had even opened, their membership IDs ready to be scanned and let inside. They had lined up behind a group of people that had the same idea as them and although this wasn't their first or even second time to come to the Space Center they still felt that same giddy excitement.

    When they had come here for the first time as love struck young adults Keith hadn't known that it would build up into years of love and a relationship full of ups and downs that had proven time and time again to only strengthen them. That might have been Keith's fault anyway, it had taken him months and months of Lance chasing him for him to finally agree to a date. Lance had enticed him with coffee dates, movie dates, pajama dates, sleepover dates, study dates and Keith had rejected every single one because he had been afraid. Afraid of getting attached to Lance in a new way, afraid of losing him one day because of a fight. He had been afraid of handing off his heart to his best friend but then– 

    _"Okay, last try before I finally accept you don't like me like I like you," Lance had said all in one breath and Keith had stopped in his tracks as they walked back to their dorm building. Girls had overheard Lance and had cooed and giggled and it made Keith's cheeks flush bright red and Lance look a little bit sheepish but it hadn't stopped him from continuing. "Final offer Keith."_

_"Spit it out," Keith had rolled his eyes. He didn't know if he could take seeing the sting of rejection in Lance's gaze again. Even if Lance knew Keith well enough to realize why Keith kept saying no over and over. Even if Lance knew Keith well enough to see that the feeling was mutual, that Keith wanted him too._  

_"My mom got me some bus tickets for a spring break trip to Houston," Lance had said carefully, slowly. "Only two tickets. And well..."_  

    _Keith had seen those tickets on Lance's messy desk last week, had assumed he would be the one going so he had told Shiro to not expect him home during the break. If Keith said no to Lance now he would have to call Shiro and hastily explain the change of plans._  

    _"The NASA Space Center is there and I thought... you know..." Lance trailed off slowly. No matter how many times he had asked Keith out before it seemed like it always overwhelmed him. "Maybe we could go there together... on a date... or whatever..."_

_They were both studying in a field that could take them to NASA one day. They had admitted to one another before that working there would be a dream, being part of a team that could go to space, becoming an astronaut. Lance wanted to pilot and Keith had admitted that he did as well._

_"Okay," Keith had finally said after some silence had stretched between them and more people walked around them._

  _Lance had looked up with wide eyes, disbelief coloring his expression before he had grinned slowly and launched himself forward into Keith's space, hugged him tightly and laughed with glee. It had been contagious, it had been liberating in a way Keith hadn't known he needed. His mind might have been bribed with the idea of visiting the Space Center but his heart had stopped squeezing constantly and painfully and fluttered instead, his chest had felt lighter, a peace had fallen over him when all he had known before was insecurity and loneliness._

     "Alright," Lance says once they're inside, turning to look at Keith and clapping his hands together in front of him once. "Everything has to be exactly the same or we will doom our relationship for the rest of time." 

    "Dramatic," Keith rolled his eyes, turning to look at Lance. "No way we'll ever be doomed."

    "Stop being a party pooper," Lance says with a roll of his eyes and a grin. He offers his hand to Keith and Keith immediately takes it, following Lance down to the Mars exhibit. "Did you know that the sand in Mars became a corporeal figure and told the prophecy of the first person that will walk on it?" 

    They stop in front of a screen with information and updated photos from Mars and Keith glances at Lance with a grin, putting himself in the right headspace where he can play along and make Lance laugh as much as Lance makes him laugh. 

    "What did Mars say about this person?" Keith asks, raising an eyebrow as he starts the interactive game on the screen, flicking through images and quickly sorting them into the right boxes.

    "The one with the long flowing hair," Lance starts with a spooky voice, using his free hand to grab a strand of Keith's hair, flipping it up and watching it as it falls back. "Broody stare and twisted lips will unlock the secrets of the very ground I am..." 

    Keith snorts and Lance scoots in closer to his side. They're nearly the same height, Lance always seems to have half an inch on him no matter what but it hardly makes any difference because their foreheads are practically pressed together and it's probably a very open display of affection but when Lance starts playing around like this it's hard to get upset with him and ask him to stop. 

    "Keep going," Keith says with a smile and Lance pulls back so quick it nearly gives Keith vertigo, tugging Keith along to a display with some space grown plants. The pink light is bright and it illuminates the side of Lance's face with a soft glow. It bleeds into his brown eyes and skin.

    "The secrets for sustaining life in extraterrestrial lands will be given to him... and a few other fellow researchers... and success will befall the Earth!" 

    "I thought this was about one guy not the whole world," Keith says with a grin and Lance's shoulders droop playfully before he's nudging into Keith's side, gripping his hand again, their fingers with practice lacing together.

    "Point is," Lance says tugging Keith along outside of the small space. "I think it might just be talking about someone we know."

    "Just might," Keith says with a grin. 

    They take turns posing for ridiculous pictures in front of suits behind glass displays, go inside the theater in time for the presentation from the astronaut with time to visit the Space Center. They both sink down into their chairs as deep as they can go and pop the collars of their jackets up when they see it's Adam, his glasses perched on top of his nose sliding down various times and both Lance and Keith poke fun at that. Go _ahh_ and _wow!_ at the appropriate times as Adam flicks through photos of his latest mission to space. Shiro was in his crew last time and Keith has seen this photo a million times since it was taken along with the sillier one after, they're both hanging on the wall leading up the stairs at Shiro's house. And Keith can admit he has one on his wallet too, he had been nervous on the days leading up to the launch and the many days it was delay for whatever reason had plagued Keith but he had been there every day to say see you soon to both of his caretakers. His brother and Adam who felt almost like a brother but not quite. Adam had always been more of a guardian than Shiro was, a caretaker, a parent figure when there were none.

    He had confided in Keith once that he preferred that to being seen as a brother. Sure, a brother was someone unconditionally close, but Adam wanted Keith and Shiro to have that bond without anyone else interfering in it. He wanted Keith to feel safe enough to come to Shiro with anything and to know that Adam was there to have their backs no matter what type of trouble he got into.

    When people are filtering out of the theater and grabbing a photo of Adam as a souvenir Keith thinks maybe they got away without being noticed but when he feels a heavy hand weighing down his shoulder and Keith sees Lance stumble he knows they weren't as lucky as he thought.

    "What are the lovebirds up to?" Adam asks as the last person slips out and the doors close.

    "Date night," Lance recovers faster than Keith. "Or... date day?"

    "Cute," Adam says with a smile, crossing his arms. "I just got back from lunch or I'd ask you guys to come eat."

    "Don't worry about it," Keith says with a shrug. "We'll grab a pretzel or something later."

    "How's work?" Adam asks and Lance and Keith both groan at the same time, turning into each other and shoving their hands at Adam. "What?"

    "Don't talk about work right now," Lance whines. "We're trying to have fun. Forget we have responsibilities."

    "You guys literally get to touch all of this stuff and more up close and personal every day of the week," Adam tells them.

    "You're talking to 19 and 18 year old Keith and Lance right now," Keith tells him, shaking his head and pulling his hair back and over one shoulder. "Give up."

    "Alright," Adam shrugs, waving at them as he heads to the back doors of the theater. 

    "Married people are boring," Keith says and Lance laughs nervously, sputtering and letting out a breath.

    "Yeah, totally," he says as he opens the door for Keith to go through. He can feel Lance close behind him and they go back around to the outside, staring up at the plane and spacecraft over it. They had seen this in action once so looking at a replica doesn't really spark much excitement but they climb up the stairs anyway, stopping whenever Lance think they have the right angle or lighting for a picture. Keith pretends he's leaning against the plane, Lance praising his core strength until he snorts and stumbles out of his frozen in place position.

    They hold hands as they walk around the inside of the spaceship, peering into the pilot seats with breaths held. Keith knows he's imagining himself sitting there, Lance next to him, the two of them leading a crew out into Mars and maybe even beyond if that was successful. The technology was so close and Keith and Lance were so young they had no doubt they would be chosen for a mission soon. 

    "Are you hungry, babe?" Lance asks when they make it back into the air conditioned building, both of them letting out a relieved sigh. 

    "A little," Keith answers, leaning into Lance when the latter throws his arm around Keith's shoulders and pulls him close. "Could go for some nachos."

    "And ice cream," Lance grins, turning his head to press a firm kiss against Keith's temple.

    Gestures like these still make Keith's heart beat unsteadily against his ribcage, steal his breath for a moment. He had never been one for physical affection until Lance. Sure, he hugged Shiro and indulged once in a while in curling up next to him on a couch or resting his head on his lap when they watched movies together when he was younger but he never made a habit of it. He had been so touch starved back then that even a pat from Shiro on top of his head made him feel lighter, made all the anger inside him ease away.

    Getting used to touch from Lance had been a completely different story. Lance had hated Keith when they first met, had practically told him so without any qualms about it. Keith had grown defensive whenever Lance was around, hesitant to even get close to their mutual friends and then it was as if a switch had flipped. Lance's demeanor changed in what seemed like overnight. He sat next to Keith whenever they were in the same place, started to place a light hand on his shoulder or arm when he told him something, invaded his personal space and got close to his face when Keith would say something.

    He asked Keith to be his roommate after their freshman year and Keith had agreed, dumbstruck because he still couldn't believe the shift. Later Lance would admit it was because he had a talk with Hunk and Hunk had helped him realize what he had been feeling for Keith wasn't just jealousy and rivalry, it was more. Lance wasn't one to waste his time once he set his sights on something. Things came naturally to Keith but Lance fought hard for them, worked until he was exhausted, and it always paid off. Keith had always found that far more impressive than anything he had ever done.

    They sit down close together once they have their food, sipping at their drinks and quickly scrolling through their phones for any missed messages before they're tucking them back into their pockets.

     "Lance," Keith complains when Lance picks up a chip and holds it up to Keith's lips with a lazy grin. He eats it when it's clear Lance isn't going to give in, rolls his eyes and accepts another when Lance scoops once more before they're both picking at the plate together until they've cleaned it completely.

    "I'm not a baby," Keith complains again when Lance starts to dab at Keith's mouth with a napkin.

    "You're my baby," Lance tells him and his gaze is focused on Keith's lips, touch careful even though the napkin feels scratchy. 

    When he pulls back they're both staring at each other. Lance's lips stained red from his drink, freckles standing out under the sunlight, brown eyes so deep Keith has felt like he could swim in them if he wanted to before, feels the same thing right now. He pulls back just a little bit so he can adjust the angle of his head as Lance leans forward, lets his eyes flutter shut when he feels the first brush of soft lips against his. It's a short kiss, a chaste one, sweet with a happy hum from Lance and another quick peck against the corner of Keith's lips before they're pulling apart. 

    Keith isn't too big on displays of affection like this but they've found a perfect mix together that doesn't make Keith feel uncomfortable and at the same time leaves Lance feeling satisfied. He leans into the hug Lance offers him, hooking his chin against his shoulder, nose gliding over the side of Lance's neck and squeezes back. They stay like that for only a few seconds before Lance is pulling back and hopping off his stool. Keith drops down next to him, their hands finding each other again.

    Lance's hand starts to sweat as he leads Keith into the Starship Gallery. It's Keith's favorite place in the entire Space Center. Shrouded in darkness, always feels private even when they can see a few people wandering around the exhibits. There's real space crafts from previous missions that always make Keith contemplate on the vastness of space. There's dotted lights in the ceiling that look like real stars, a display of the moon landing, a rover proudly standing.

    But, Keith had to admit, the best part of it all is the moon rock behind a glass case in the Lunar Samples Vault. There's openings at the bottom for people to reach inside and touch it, smooth after years of exposure.

    _"Wow," Lance had whispered during their first date as soon as they had entered the Starship Gallery. Keith was just as awestruck, following Lance as the latter walked backwards. They had looked so closely at the command modules, the spacecraft from Gemini V actually there, the real thing on display on a loan from the Smithsonian._  

    _In the cover of the dark was when Lance had first been brave enough to hold Keith's hand. It's not like they had never done it before but this was somehow different. It wasn't just a touch from a friend, it was a touch from someone who Keith knew cared about him deeper than that. Something that begrudgingly made his heart stutter. Lance's hand had been sweating back then too, but he had held on tight and firm, his eyebrows scrunched together with determination and it had made Keith smile._

    _When they had made it inside vault and to the moon rock they had stood across from each other in front of the display. Keith had reached in with no hesitation to smooth his finger slowly over the rock. His smile turned into a grin when he saw Lance's hand slip in as well, his fingertip brushing besides Keith, both of them touching the rock at the same time. When Keith looked up Lance had been smiling softly._

_"Is it just me or is this super romantic?" he had asked teasingly. “We’re touching the moon together.”_

_"It kind of is," Keith had said with a small grin, looking up at Lance through the glass. Their eyes held for a moment, fingertips touching before they both pulled back and headed back into the darker corners of the Starship Gallery._  

    Nothing better than holding a moon rock with a beautiful boy to seal Keith's fate forever. 

    Lance snaps a million pictures of Keith with the backdrop of the stars, in front of the astronaut suits, takes selfies of the two of them, asks strangers to snap a few pictures of them standing proudly under one of the command modules. Lance looks like he's stalling, a nervous edge on his smile, his eyes darting back and forth, sticking to a piece of the wall or ceiling. He pretends he's reading the descriptions that accompany the displays but Keith knows that none of the information on there is new to either of them.

    The sight brings out something in Keith, immediately his hands reaching over to comfort Lance. It could be he's becoming anxious and doesn't want to "ruin the fun" despite the many times Keith has made it clear that Lance is most important, that nothing he ever did could ruin anything. He wants to collect those insecurities and toss them away, they never feel like they have place in Lance but they are part of him and Keith has to embrace it too. And do his best to make him feel better along the way.

    It's why he walks closer to Lance, slides his arms around his waist and leans close until he's pressing their cheeks together, nuzzling into the side of Lance's curly hair, pressing a kiss to the juncture between his ear and the nape of his neck. Lance immediately relaxes into his hold, reaches up with his long arms to embrace Keith back, head turning to bury against the crown of Keith's head.

    "Are you okay?" Keith asks quietly and Lance nods, squeezes him once and Keith squeezes back.

    Everything around them always melts away in moments like these and settles down both of their hearts. Keith isn't a stranger to moments of anxiety and depression either. No matter how happy they are the rest of the time.

    "Whatever is worrying you," Keith continues, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm always going to be here." 

    "I know," Lance sighs, pulling back and giving Keith a small smile. "I'm okay. Just... Let's keep going, yeah? One more stop on this awesome first date."

    "Sure," Keith smiles, grabbing Lance's hand as they walk towards the giant vault. 

    They walk around to peer into the other displays even though the moon rock is right in the center of the room, calling to them. The mannequins behind the glass make them snort, the samples are ones that they have seen up close and personal before like Adam claimed but it's still insanely cool to look at. Keith could say that they were blessed enough to love their jobs so much they never grew tired of visiting this place.

    When they're finally satisfied that they've looked at everything they stand on opposite sides of the glass display again. Their fingertips resting on the edge of it. There's no one around. The room is completely empty and Keith thinks it's like a moment of good luck, a sign that they are really meant to be here in this moment. 

    Keith reaches for his phone with one hand, pulls up the video mode on it and starts recording.

    "We missed out on getting a picture last time," he says. "Let's get one now."

    "Okay," Lance grins and Keith darts his gaze up to look at Lance and his warm smile, his eyebrows arched just so that the sight makes warmth flood through Keith, affection and longing to hold him there. 

    They both look down again at the same time and reach back inside, Keith recording all the while, knowing that getting a snapshot from the video will be easier than taking the perfect picture. When their fingers reach inside Keith is once again struck by how funny it is that the rock has been smoothed down from the touch of many people. He thinks about the novelty of it. About whether or not one day he'll bring something back from Mars that people can touch and have interactions with. He wonders if one day he'll be immortalized in the Space Center with Lance.

    There's so many thoughts running through his mind that he's distracted for a moment but then he sees it. Something glinting in the light, Lance's fingers facing upward instead, gripping something between his thumb and forefinger. He blinks a few times as he stares down at it, his mind slowly trying to make sense of what he's seeing. 

    A ring.

    _That's a ring._  

    "Keith," Lance says quietly and Keith snaps his eyes up, the hand holding his phone tilting too and Keith can tell from his peripheral vision that Lance is on screen. There's tears clinging to his lashes, not yet dragging down his cheeks and Keith's heart is beating loudly, blood roaring in his ears. 

    "Yes!" Keith blurts out and Lance laughs, shutting his eyes and the tears do drop, fall down his cheeks but they're happy ones and Keith laughs too as his own start to build up.

    "You have to let me ask," Lance says, looking at Keith again and Keith nods, purses his lips together so he stays quiet.

    "Okay, okay," he nods and he looks down again quickly at the ring. It's silver, simple, looks like it has an engraving inside and there aren't any shimmering stones on it but that's okay because Lance knows that Keith would want something simple.

    "I love you more than anything," Lance says and Keith lets out a shaky breath through his nose. "I never want to think of a life without you.” 

    Keith takes deep breaths, feels frozen, his hand still holding up the phone, still with Lance on the screen. It's taking Lance a moment, his lips pinching together nervously, teeth sinking down into his bottom lip and Keith feels just as overwhelmed as Lance is but he feels patient, already knows his answer.

    "Will you marry me?" he asks finally his voice isn't shaky but it's full of emotion Keith is starting to feel drowned by himself. 

    "Yes," he says, sounds the same, a big smile breaking out at the same time Lance does and he looks down, points his phone downward as well as Lance slides the ring carefully onto his ring finger. It's a perfect fit and Keith wonders when Lance got those measurements but he doesn't really want to ask, doesn't want to mess with the moment.

    When Lance lets go of his hand he hastily turns off the video, tucks his phone into his pocket and rounds the glass display to throw his arms around Lance's neck, pressing their lips together firmly with a happy hum, returning Lance's laughter in the form of quick kisses all over his face. Lance lifts him from the ground, spins them around the room in a fit of giggles.

    "I love you too," Keith tells him, touches down on the ground again and laughs when Lance lets out a soft huff. They stare at each other for a moment longer, hands lingering on Lance's shoulder, still feeling Lance's warm against against his waist.

    They pull apart when a few kids run into the vault, moving out of their way. Keith hooks his arm around Lance's and presses to his side as they walk out, bypassing the gift shop and straight through the doors. He rests his cheek against Lance's shoulder and they laugh as they walk out into the heat and breeze.

    "Am I the best fiancé or what?" Lance asks and Keith leans heavily into his side with a snort.

    _"Am I the best boyfriend or what?" Lance had asked him as they walked out of the Space Center that time. He froze with his arms spread outwards, halting his long backward steps. "Uh..."_  

_Keith's cheeks had grown terribly hot, his heart thumping once again unsteadily on his chest because even though this_ was _a date and the whole week off was pretty much the same they hadn't yet labeled it. They were here on their first day off and Lance..._

_"You are," Keith told him, determined and with a smile, walking over and pinching Lance's cheek playfully. "After me, that is."_

_"Hey," Lance had pouted, tugging at Keith's hair gently._

    "Sure you are," Keith tells him now, pulling out the keys to his car and unlocking it. "After me, that is." He smirks at Lance when the latter narrows his eyes at him and ducks into the driver's seat. 

    “Will you still think married people are boring when we are?” Lance asks as he slips inside on the passengers side.

    “No way. Not us.”

    “Good.”

    The engraving inside the ring are coordinates and a heart. Keith doesn’t have to look them up to know it’s the coordinates of where the moon rock is. Lance has always been cheesy like that, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> 😔🤙


End file.
